Michael Movie Review: Insightful Analysis & Rating

The narrative begins in Gary, Indiana, where a young boy (played with startling precociousness by Juliano Krue Valdi) discovers he can command a room with his voice. We watch the Jackson Five rise under the iron fist of father Joseph Jackson (Colman Domingo, volcanic and chilling). From there, the film charts Michael’s solo breakthrough with Off the Wall, the transformative Thriller era, and the relentless pressure that came with being the biggest entertainer on earth. The screenplay, credited to John Logan, threads together concert reconstructions (including the iconic Motown 25 performance) with quieter backstage moments - tensions with manager John Branca (a sharp Miles Teller), the protective loyalty of bodyguard Bill Bray (KeiLyn Durrel Jones), and the suffocating love of mother Katherine (Nia Long). The film deliberately stops short of the 1990s scandals; its timeline essentially concludes around the Bad tour, framing Michael as a man besieged by fame, not accusations.

Let’s get the elephant in the room out of the way: Michael is a film produced with the cooperation of the Jackson estate. It does not confront the child-abuse allegations head-on. Critics will argue this is a sanitization, and they’re not entirely wrong. But what Fuqua and his team have done instead is present a psychological study of a man who never had a childhood - and how that loss warped his later life. The film’s power lies in its performance sequences. Jaafar Jackson is a revelation. He moves like his uncle - that gliding moonwalk, that snap of the wrist - but he also finds the vulnerability beneath the sequins. When he sings “Human Nature” in a quiet rehearsal room, you feel the loneliness that drove the spectacle.

Colman Domingo nearly steals the movie as Joseph Jackson, a father who beat greatness into his sons and then resented them for it. The domestic scenes are brutal: one sequence where Joseph forces the boys to rehearse past midnight while Katherine watches helplessly is almost unbearable. Nia Long brings tenderness as the maternal buffer, and Laura Harrier is excellent as Suzanne de Passe, the Motown exec who saw Michael’s potential beyond the group.

The film’s best stretch is its middle third, focusing on the making of Thriller. Fuqua recreates the “Billie Jean” music video shoot with a documentary-like intimacy - watching Jackson obsess over the lighting of a single glove, you understand his genius and his torment. The choreography is lovingly restaged, and the concert sequences (shot on enormous sets that blend 1980s Arena with Fuqua’s signature canted angles) are electric. However, the script struggles with pacing. The first act, covering the Jackson Five, feels rushed, glossing over the emotional cost of instant fame. And the film’s refusal to address the 1993 allegations, even as a looming shadow, creates a narrative vacuum. It whispers around the topic - a tabloid headline flashes on screen, a lawyer mentions a threat - but never engages. That omission will frustrate viewers looking for a full reckoning.

Pros

• Jaafar Jackson’s performance is breathtaking - he channels Michael’s voice, movement, and pain without becoming a parody.
• Colman Domingo delivers a career-best turn as Joseph Jackson, equal parts monster and wounded patriarch.
• The concert sequences are spectacular; Fuqua captures the kinetic energy of live performance without losing the human figure in the lights.
• The production design and costumes transport you to the late ’70s and ’80s with loving precision.
• The film resists hagiography in its quieter moments, showing Michael’s obsessive, sometimes controlling nature.

Cons

• Avoidance of the child-abuse allegations is a significant gap that weakens the biographical completeness.
• The first act feels compressed; the Jackson Five rise is reduced to a montage of hits.
• Some supporting characters (Miles Teller’s John Branca) feel underutilized, serving more as functionaries than people.
• The runtime, while brisk, occasionally rushes emotional beats that deserved more space.

Michael is a beautiful, frustrating, and ultimately essential film about the price of greatness. It gives you the music - the pure, transcendent joy of it - and it gives you the wounds. Jaafar Jackson’s performance will make you believe in the magic again. But it leaves you with questions it refuses to answer. In that way, it mirrors its subject: dazzling, wounded, and always performing. Watch it for the artistry. Argue about the rest over coffee. It’s worth the conversation.